Digital Identity and Teacher´s Role in the 21st Century Classroom

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Digital Identity and Teachers Role in the 21st Century Classroom

Digital Identity and Teachers Role in the 21st Century ClassroomNora [email protected]

Buenos AiresSeptember 26-28, 2013

Welcome and thank you for sharing this part of the morning with me.

In this fantastic conference with teachers from all over the country and even from abroad, weve already had the opportunity to enjoy papers and workshops in which different aspects of ICT and language teaching have been dealt with. Weve already got a wide overview of tools, resources, tips and techniques we can use to create enriched learning scenarios.

So now, to start this presentation, I have a request:1

Ok, now, lets see. How many of you have been able to satisfy my request?Dont cheat silencing your phone is not enough

How many of you think you cant turn it off, or simply, just dont feel like doing so?

Ok, just relax!

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Both the fact that we have incorporated the need of feeling were reachable at all times and the fact that some of you may recognise this meme are evidence that technology has generated a change However, we may risk not achieving a significant change in language learning if we do not take a braver step ahead and change our rol as we know it today, if we do not take into account the digital identities of the main stakeholders in the teaching-learning process, i.e., teachers and students, and if we do My challenge in this half an hour is not to make you feel uncomfortable by turning your phones off, but by making you feel restless about going on teaching the same way you have up to know. 3

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Fingerprint_picture.svg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/USMC_Sergeant_identifies_Baghdaddi_city_council_member_with_iris_scanner.jpg

http://lindongfromeasttowest.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/278973402_c876c2334d.jpgIdentity

So, what do I mean by identity? Our physical features, our history, our behaviour. Not only our fingerprint or what an iris recognition may tell, but also all those aspects that let us individualise each of our students so well that we can help them learn. Now lets go back to our reaction with the cell phone. Surely we wouldnt have reacted this way when we were students at school. Oh, come on! You didnt have a cell phone when you were at school? I see. Well, surely we have changed your behaviour and needs in the last, lets say, five years? We didnt feel the need to check what was happening at home so often, or to react in written to what was happening to us via twitter or whats up. The way we relate to technology is also part ofour identity. With the way we show ourselves in the net, our online reputation and the pages we visit, for instance, we form the digital part of our identity, which by now is not distinguishable from our general identity.

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A collection of data about a subject that represents their traits preferences and attributes (Windley, 2005)

Traits: school records, behaviourPreferences: favourite games, songs, topics, friendsAttributes: two sisters, from Portugal

NETWORKED IDENTITYThe Net as an Extension of Identity (Derrick de Kerchhove - Mc Luhan Foundation)

Communication over internet and/or 3G: Whats up Computer games: Tycoon series MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games): Runescape Social Media: Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, iTunes

DIGITAL IDENTITY

And what is the digital identity? Here Im borrowing ideas from another field of knowledge, that of the e-commerce, where digital identity is such a relevant issue. Experts in this area distinguish three aspects:Traits, Preferences and Attributes. Preferences are easy to identify. The difference between attributes and traits is that attributes are those aspects that seldom change, whereas traits do and are often related to records of certain performances. I added some examples we can relate to students.

Some other authors such as Derrick the Kerchhove, from the Mc Luhan foundation (yes, the one who coined the phrase The medium is the message) go even further and say that because nowadays we use Internet to contact others, we are adding a network identity component to our profile. Think whether you can recognise your friends from the way they whatsup you, or the way your students relate to each other in MMORPGs, those games in which each kid (or adult) is playing from his device maybe physically alone, but perhaps teaming with stranges from parts of the world he cant even spot on a map, following a common objective or target. So, do we really know our students, or just the physically visible part of them?

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GEN Z (1993 )Digital in their DNA Gen Zs are always connected in a seamless cloud-based world of friends, data, and entertainment. Theyre naturally multitaskers. They usually stay indoors alone. They have terrible social skills. Theyve got very short attention span. Theyve got great power of synthesis. They never write e-mail. They convey meaning through media convergence.They use social media to express feelings and thoughts, and share them. They love to crowd source for solutions on social media. They have divergent thinking.

Most of our students belong to has been labelled as Gen Z, which are said to be Digital in their DNA. Although I dont believe in labels much, I believe I can recognise some of the characteristics that are said to be typical of this generation. Are we taking this characteristics into account in our lesson planning? Do we let them convey meaning thorugh a variety of media? Do we present information in this way? Do we take into account their need to react and share their feelings and opinions? Do we take advantage of their ability to gain knowledge from the wisdom of the crowds in the learning projects we devise? So maybe, in order to know who my students are I would need to know a little more about their digital identity: the sites they visit, the games they play, how they choose to express themselves or show themselves on the net, because that is also part of themselves, and I need to know them in order to cater for their needs better.6

My digital identity?as an EFL teacher?

And how about my own digital identity? Can I recognise my traits, preferences and attibutes? Have I googled myself recently? Have I paid attention to my digital profile and my reputation? Do I make use of the privacy settings in the social tools I use, for instance? How much do I need to be connected or reachable? And.. The big question: is there consistency between my digital identity in my everyday life, and the one I have as an EFL teacher? And how about my network identity? Is my teaching design taking all this into account? I believe that including technology in the classroom is not catering for all these changes in our identities, and that we need to do so in order to have more meaningful and efective learning.7

Approaches to Teaching with ICTTechnicalApplies teaching techniques designed by experts as closely as possible

CognitiveAnalyses context and students and take decisions as to how to teachCriticalTransforms reality by empowering students for life-long learningCabero Almenara, J. (2007). Las necesidades de las TIC en el mbito educativo: oportunidades, riesgos y necesidades. In Tecnologa y Comunicacin Educativas. Ao 21, No. 45. Retrieved from http://investigacion.ilce.edu.mx/tyce/45/articulo1.pdf

EFL teachers as designers ofEcosystems of LearningUNESCO. (2005). Towards Knowledge Societies: UNESCO World Report. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001418/141843e.pdf

http://openclipart.org/people/eady/eady_New_On_Stars.svg

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4048/4479695567_248d7c80d8_o.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2496/4137633043_6aaa3e32c5_o.pngWhere is the English Classroom?Ubiquitous learningbyod

IF WE MANAGE TO: help learning happen anywhere and at any timeExpand our classroom as much as we want in time and spaceDevelop self-learning competencesWE CAN DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS OF LEARNING

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lff2FsYiSNE/TmRbn2kebLI/AAAAAAAAA2w/8yuaDb4u3Og/s1600/Ecosystem-definition-3.jpg

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TEACHER AS LEARNING DESIGNER

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TEACHER AS LEARNING DESIGNERHOW?

SETTING LEARNING TASKS, PROJECTS AND PROBLEMS

FACILITATING ACCESS TO A REPOSITORY OF SOURCES

GUIDING STUDENTS TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

FOSTERING PARTICIPATION IN A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING

USING THE VALUABLE FACE-TO-FACE TIME IN THE CLASSROOM TO MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES AND INTERPERSONAL INTERACTION, FLIPPING WHEN NECESSARY

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If were educating for the unknown1, understanding our students relationship with technology and our own will help us design critical use of technology in ecosystems of learning that will foster language competence development, even after we are no longer with them in the classroom.1 Perkins, D. (2012, Sept 18). Qu cosas vale la pena ensear y aprender hoy. Presentation at Ciclo de Conferencias Internacionales de Educacin y Tecnologa. Fundacin Telefnica (EducaRed). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/Z7XBrvbyza4

Lets help them make their knowledge visibleLets ask ourselves: how do I know they have really learnt?How can they show all the class theyve really learnt?

And then lets design the learning environments accordingly.

Lets foster language learning competences that would go on after our course finishes and that would become part of the students usual digital practices.

http://www.nepeanmotorgroup.com.au/media/editor/image/thank-you.jpgNora [email protected] this presentation at http://www.slideshare.net/noralizenbergRead the full paper at Faapi13 selected papershttp://apiba.aulaweb.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=44